Spare Tyre Swing Arm

[Bludger]

Can anyone offer some advice? My truck has the rear mounted spare tyre with the swing arm bolted on the driver's side rear.

I've noticed that when I drive over a speed hump, pothole, cat, etc. that I get a rattle from the back of the car. I have a feeling it is the spare tyre swing arm rattling, but can't be certain.

Is this a common problem with this rear mounted spare? Is there any way of tightening it back up again? Would it be the hinges, or the locking catch that is loose?

Thanks in advance

Dave

[hellmett]

Re

I had same problem with mine.

It was coming from the "catch" and was really loud as it seemed to vibrate through the whole vehicle!

The catch mechanism seems to get tighter the more it is pushed in!

Tighten the catch up, as I did and I'm sure this will sort it!

A big blob of vaseline or grease will also muffle the rattle!

Later!

Gary

[da SLUG man]

think someone also had a problem with the "hinges" wearing.

got some made up and that solved it...

i haven't got a rear mount, so not 100% on the exact story on it...


it was only a week or 2 ago so should be quite high up on a search list.

[Morr]

Rattles with the wheel carrier can occur. This is often cured by adjustment of the catches as Gary pointed out.

Wear in the hinges of the carriers seems so far to primarily affect the 3rd Gen models. If you suspect however that there is wear or rattles caused by the carrier which are not due to adjustment of the catch try the following.
Firstly remove the wheel from it and drive it for a few days, if it all goes quiet you know it it was the weight of the wheel causing the carrier to rattle, so there must be wear in the carrier. With the wheel still off and the tailgate lowered, swing the carrier until it is sitting in the position it would normally occupy when closed. Now grasping the end of the carrier furthest from the hinges, see if you can move it up and down, any wear in the hinges should become apparent.
Note it is important to check the carrier in its normal closed position in this manner, as this will be the position on the hinge that has the most wear.
If you do have wear in the hinges there is no simple cure unfortunately, they are not designed as serviceable parts, although any decent machine shop should be able to fabricate a replacement pin/bush for it.